Revolution Update: August 30, 2010

· Revs are set to play for the team’s third cup championship in team history (2007 U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga 2008)

· SuperLiga is an annual summer tournament between top teams from the U.S.’ Major League Soccer and Mexico’s top league, the Priméra División.

· New England won SuperLiga 2008, and remains the only MLS team to win the annual tournament.

· In the previous three tournaments, Mexican teams have won twice (2007, 2009) while MLS teams have won once (2008 – the New England Revolution).

· This is the third time the SuperLiga final will pit an MLS team against a Mexican team.

· Every SuperLiga championship has been decided by penalty kicks, including the Revs’ 6-5 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the 2008 title match.

· Wednesday’s championship match is a rematch of a group-stage game, in which the Revs took a 1-0 win over Morelia at Gillette Stadium on July 20.

· Revs have an all-time record of 8-1-4 in three SuperLiga competitions, a .769 winning percentage … the Revs have the most wins, best record and best winning percentage of all teams that have ever competed in SuperLiga.

· The team’s 7-0-1 mark against Mexican teams is the best among MLS squads that have competed in SuperLiga, and the seven wins almost doubles the next best team (Houston) … no other MLS team is undefeated against Mexican teams in tournament history.

· New England is the first team to make multiple appearances in the SuperLiga final … no other team has made more than one appearance.

· Revs have dominated the 2010 SuperLiga tournament with a strangling defense, allowing just one goal in four matches.

· New England posted three straight 1-0 wins in the three-game group stage, becoming the first and only team to take three wins, and to also post three straight shutouts in the group stage.

NEW ENGLAND VS. MONARCAS MORELIA INFORMATION

The Revs are 1-0-0 all-time against Monarcas Morelia … the teams met in the 2010 group stage of SuperLiga, where the Revs earned a 1-0 win. Marko Perovic scored the lone goal in the game, a second-half strike that stood as the game-winner. Matt Reis made three saves to post his second consecutive shutout in SuperLiga 2010. In the match, the Revs played without Shalrie Joseph (precaution because of caution accumulation), Sainey Nyassi (precaution because of caution accumulation), Kevin Alston (hamstring strain) and Cory Gibbs (quad strain).

HOW THE TEAMS ADVANCED

The Revolution has advanced to the SuperLiga final by going 3-0-1 in previous matches … the team posted three straight 1-0 wins in group play (vs. Pumas UNAM on July 14, at Chicago Fire on July 17, and vs. Monarcas Morelia on July 20) to finish as the top seed not only in Group B, but also in the tournament, and then advanced to the final by topping Mexico’s Puebla FC in penalty kicks (5-3) after the teams played to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes … Morelia finished group play with a 1-1-1 record, good for second in Group B … the team topped the Chicago Fire, 5-1, and tied Pumas UNAM, 2-2, before falling to the Revs to close group play … in the semifinals, Morelia defeated Houston, 1-0, to advance to the championship.

NEW ENGLAND VS. SEATTLE SERIES INFORMATION

· Saturday night’s match will be the fourth meeting between the Revolution and Sounders FC, and the second-ever at Gillette Stadium … New England is 2-1-0 all-time against Seattle, and 1-0-0 at Gillette Stadium.

· Saturday’s match is the second and final meeting in 2010 between the two teams … Seattle earned a 3-0 victory at Qwest Field on June 5 to claim its first victory in team history against New England.

· The Revs swept the season series last year, 2-0-0 and were one of only two MLS teams to win at the Sounders’ Qwest Field in 2009.

· In 2009, the Revs were the only MLS team to sweep their first-ever season-series with the Sounders, with wins on Aug. 20 in Seattle and Sept. 26 in Foxborough ... additionally, Seattle’s only two losses in their final 10 games of the Sounders’ 2009 march to the playoffs in the club’s inaugural season came at the hands of the Revolution.

· All three of New England’s goals against Seattle in series history have come from Shalrie Joseph.

PLAYER NOTES VS. SEATTLE

Shalrie Joseph has scored all three of the Revolution’s goals against the Sounders … Joseph tallied the only score in the clubs’ first-ever game against Seattle at Qwest Field in a 1-0 win on Aug. 20, 2009 and both Revolution goals in a 2-1 victory in Foxborough on Sept. 26, 2009. Edgaras Jankauskas is the only current Revolution player with an assist against Seattle ... he recorded the helper on Joseph’s game-winning goal on Aug. 20 at Qwest Field.

In two appearances against Seattle (both in 2009), Matt Reis is 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals against average, two saves and one shutout. Bobby Shuttleworth made his first-ever MLS start at Seattle on June 5, taking the loss in the 3-0 defeat. Two former members of the Revolution – defender James Riley and forward Pat Noonan – are Seattle teammates.

NEWS AND NOTES

TROPHY TIME??

Wednesday’s match against Monarcas Morelia is another opportunity for the Revolution to add to its trophy case … already the SuperLiga 2008 champions, the Revs also won the 2007 U.S. Open Cup … a victory on Wednesday night would give the Revs their third tournament championship in club history.

SUPERLIGA: THE SAGA CONTINUES

The 2010 season marks the third straight year in which the Revolution has participated in SuperLiga … already owning the tournament’s best-ever record (8-1-4) and winning percentage (.769), the Revs will look to become the tournament’s first-ever two-time winner on Wednesday night.

REPEATING A REPEAT MATCHUP

For the third time in four tournaments, the SuperLiga championship will be a repeat of a group stage match …

2007 Group Stage: LA 2, Pachuca 1

Championship: Pachuca 1, LA 1 (Pachuca wins in PKs, 4-3)

2009 Group Stage: Tigres UANL 2, Chicago 1

Championship: Tigres UANL 1, Chicago 1 (Tigres wins in PKs, 4-3)

2010 Group Stage: New England 1, Morelia 0

Championship: TBA

PRACTICING KICKS

In each edition of SuperLiga to date, the championship has been decided by penalty kicks after the title game ended in a draw … in 2007, 2008 and 2009, the matches were all tied after 90 minutes (and overtime in 2007 and 2008), and penalty kicks were needed.

REVS SUCCEED AGAINST TEAMS FROM THE SOUTH

New England has posted unprecedented success against Mexican teams in SuperLiga … following the team’s semifinal draw against Puebla, the Revs pushed their all-time mark to 7-0-1 against Mexican teams in SuperLiga … New England has also out-scored its opponents from the south by a combined 11-3 mark in tournament action ... overall, since the team first played a Mexican team in 2000, the Revolution has posted an 11-2-2 mark in all competitions against Mexican clubs … the only two blemishes came in New England’s first meeting with a Mexican team, a 2-0 loss to CD Guadalajara on March 1, 2000 … the second was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Atlante FC on March 6, 2008, during a preseason training trip to Cancun.

SETTING THE SUPERLIGA STANDARD

When the final whistle blew on July 20 to wrap up group play, New England set multiple SuperLiga records … the Revs became the first team to finish 3-0-0 in the group stage and the first team to hold all three opponents scoreless in the process … the Revolution is also the first team to win its group and qualify for the SuperLiga elimination round three times … on Wednesday, New England looks to become the first team to win two SuperLiga titles.

BUSY WEEK NO DIFFERENT THAN SOME

For the seventh time this season, the Revs are playing two games in one week, with the SuperLiga final on Wednesday and an MLS match against Seattle at home on Saturday … so far this season, the Revs are a combined 3-7-2 in those matches … the only time this season the Revs won both matches in a week came back on July 14 and 17, when the team topped Pumas UNAM, 1-0, and then traveled to Chicago to beat the Fire, 1-0, in SuperLiga group action … the last time the team played two matches in a week at home, the Revs pulled out a draw against Puebla (and advanced in PKs) in the SuperLiga semifinal on Aug. 4, and then defeated D.C. United, 1-0, on Aug. 7.

SOUNDING OFF FOR SATURDAY

No sooner will the whistle blow on the SuperLiga final than the Revs need to turn their focus back to MLS action … Seattle Sounders FC travels to Foxborough on Saturday in a match that will kick off the final two months of the regular season.

USING SUPERLIGA TO TURN THE TIDES

Earlier this season the Revs used a dominating SuperLiga group stage performance to turn the tide in league play … having just snapped a three-match MLS winless streak in all matches, New England defeated LA, 2-0, at home before jumping into SuperLiga play … the win turned into a eight-match undefeated streak that was snapped on Aug. 18 at Chicago, starting the recent three-game skid.

STRAIGHT UP STOLI

Ilija Stolica has had an immediate impact on the Revs since debuting on Aug. 7 … one week after making his MLS debut against DC, Stolica scored the game-winning goal against Houston on Aug. 14 … he struck for his second MLS goal last Saturday, putting New England ahead, 1-0, against Philadelphia at Gillette Stadium … the Serbian striker has started the team’s last four matches, and is expected to make his SuperLiga debut on Wednesday.

JOSEPH’S HELPING HAND

Shalrie Joseph picked up his fourth assist of the 2010 season on Saturday night, and moved into a third-place tie on the New England career assist chart, tied with former Rev Pat Noonan (2003-07) with 29 assists … Joseph’s four assists this season already marks his third-highest season total in his eight-year career, after the eight-assist campaign in 2009 and his five-assist seasons in 2005 and 2007.